Jackson's Late 3s Topple Kobe, Lakers

[March 24, 2008]  LOS ANGELES (AP) -- Stephen Jackson scored six of his 31 points on two 3-pointers in the final 38 1/2 seconds, and the Golden State Warriors beat the Los Angeles Lakers 115-111 Sunday night after blowing a 26-point lead.

Jackson's first 3-pointer gave the Warriors a 112-108 lead. After Kobe Bryant's 3-pointer with 30.5 seconds left drew the Lakers within one, Jackson connected from the top of the key with 8.5 seconds left to complete the scoring.

Monta Ellis also had 31 points along with seven rebounds and five assists for the Warriors, who won for the 10th time in 14 games. Baron Davis scored 18 points and Al Harrington added 13 points and 10 rebounds for Golden State (43-26), which remained 1 1/2 games ahead of Denver in the race for the eighth and final playoff spot in the Western Conference.

Bryant scored 16 of his 36 points in the fourth quarter, and added a season-high 14 rebounds and eight assists to lead the Lakers (48-22), who had their three-game winning streak snapped and fell percentage points behind the Western Conference-leading New Orleans Hornets.

Lamar Odom had 19 points and a career-high 22 rebounds and Ronny Turiaf and Derek Fisher scored 16 each for Los Angeles.

Lakers center Pau Gasol missed his fifth straight game with a sprained left ankle, and won't play Monday night when the teams meet again in Oakland in a possible playoff preview. Golden State's Mikael Pietrus sat out the game due to a strained groin.

The win was the second straight for the Warriors over the Lakers after a nine-game losing streak to their in-state rivals.

Ellis made two foul shots with three minutes remaining to snap a 101-101 tie, and a jumper by Davis 30 seconds later gave the Warriors a four-point lead. They were on top the rest of the way, although the Lakers drew within one twice in the last minute.

Bryant made two free throws with 5:08 left to give the Lakers a 99-97 lead -- their first since the middle of the first quarter. Neither team led by more than four points after that.

Turiaf scored five straight points to tie the game at 95 with 6:48 remaining. The Lakers had trailed 75-49 in the opening minute of the third quarter.

After a 3-pointer by Harrington gave Golden State its 26-point lead, the Lakers suddenly got on a roll, going on a 32-9 run to draw within three points. Bryant had 11 points, Fisher added 10 and Odom scored six during the spurt. The Warriors scored the last three points of the third quarter to make it 87-81.

Ellis had nine points during an 18-8 run to start the second quarter that gave Golden State a 52-38 lead, and the Warriors scored the last 13 points of the period to make it 72-49 at halftime, prompting many in the capacity crowd of 18,997 at Staples Center to boo the Lakers off the court.

The 72 points matched Golden State's high for a half this season, and were the most allowed by the Lakers in a half.

Jackson made four 3-pointers in as many attempts while scoring 16 points in the first quarter to help the Warriors take a 34-30 lead. Davis picked up two personal fouls and a technical in the opening three minutes, but played nearly 21 minutes in the first half, and didn't pick up his third personal until the fourth period.

Notes: Lakers coach Phil Jackson said he expects Gasol to return sometime this week, perhaps as soon as Wednesday night against Charlotte. ... The Lakers had their nine-game homecourt winning streak against the Warriors snapped. ... The Warriors have scored at least 100 points in 33 straight games. They lead the NBA in points scored and allowed. ... The Lakers have won eight of their past 10 home games, giving them a 24-9 home record. They play nine of their last 12 regular-season games at Staples Center including a designated road game against the Clippers.

[Associated Press; By JOHN NADEL]

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